I had The Loveliest Time at Carly Rae Jepsen’s Dublin concert! So much so that I needed another Carly fix just dates later. Is this too, is this too much? Not if you are a dedicated fan like myself!

You could go to all dates on this tour and every time the setlist would be different. And so would Carly’s outfits! For the Alexandra Palace show in London, she went for head-to-toe pink. It didn’t take her long to remove the blazer and elbow-length gloves. She carried on in a tight bodysuit which exposed her attractive derrière, and knee-length boots to match. All pink, and so right for her.

Later on, after an instrumental reprise of “Western Wind”, she opened act II in a white tulle skirt that wouldn’t have been out of place in Cyndi Lauper’s mid-80s wardrobe.

“Are you ready to run away with me?” she said, sparking a hysterical reaction in the audience and a near-religious singalong. Had it been the lead single off Emotion, “Run Away with Me” could have become Carly’s biggest hit. Even bigger than “Call Me Maybe”. “This one you have to sing, it’s kind of the law” she said, understandably tired of the song that launched her into mega stardom over a decade ago. The audience still remembered every word! And every word of the deep cut “When I Needed You”, singing its last chorus a capella entirely on their own.

Much of the set was influenced by the 70s disco, with “Boy Problems” and “The Loneliest Time” as prime examples. For a proper feel of the era, Jepsen was travolting, armrolling, and even doing the Batusi dance. There was also a surprising (and much applauded) hard rock guitar riff in “Too Much”, and a touch of country here and there.

In the middle of another disco banger “Julien” she introduced her band: Sophi Bairley and Julia Ross on backing vocals, Tavish Crowe and Abe Nouri on guitars, Nik Pesut on drums, and Jared Manierka on keyboards and sax. “Julien turned out to be a dick!” she snapped. “And we dedicate the next song to him” she went on and launched into “Talking to Yourself”, an infectious track with bitter lyrics to your ex. “Beach House” revisited Carly’s sour experiences with dating apps, yet coated in a lot of humour. Thankfully, the energetic “Now That I Found You” was nothing less than a story about finally matching with someone compatible.

She candidly said she has chocolates in her room as an intro to the flirtatious “Want You in My Room”. “I Didn’t Just Come Here to Dance” turned out to be inspired by her picking up guys in bars — most likely with this very line.

But she also showed her vulnerable side. The downtempo “Bends” was written after losing someone dear and the subsequent grieving process. “Go Find Yourself or Whatever” was directed at someone you love, but who hasn’t figured themselves out yet. Sat on stools at the end of the catwalk, Carly and Tavish started it as a stripped-down ballad before other musicians joined in for the full-band effect.

The show closed with “Cut to the Feeling”, another Carly classic and a should-have-been global hit. She danced around the stage cutting the air with a toy sword that fans usually hand to her for the finale. Coincidentally, the song was certified silver in the UK just days before this gig.

Although it didn’t sell out, it was Carly’s biggest show in London to date, topping her Dedicated Tour gig at the Brixton Academy three years ago. A reminder that her loyal fanbase is always there for her, and only growing larger.

Setlist: “Surrender My Heart”, “Joshua Tree”, “Run Away with Me”, “Too Much”, “Julien”, “Talking to Yourself”, “Emotion”, “Favourite Colour”, “Call Me Maybe”, “Stay Away”, “Bends”, “Western Wind”, “So Nice”, “I Really Like You”, “Want You in My Room”, “Your Type”, “Boy Problems”, “Now That I Found You”, “I Didn’t Just Come Here to Dance”, “The Loneliest Time”, “When I Needed You”, “Go Find Yourself or Whatever”, “Beach House”, “Cut to the Feeling”